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A TIMELINE OF HIV/AIDS1981 June 5: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control andPrevention (CDC) publish a Morbidity and MortalityWeekly Report (MMWR), describing cases of a rarelung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia(PCP), in five young, previously healthy, gay menin Los Angeles. All the men have other unusualinfections as well, indicating that their immunesystems are not working; two have already died bythe time the report is published. This edition of theMMWR marks the first official reporting of what willbecome known as the AIDS epidemic. June 5-6: The Associated Press, the Los AngelesTimes, and the San Francisco Chronicle reporton the MMWR article. Within days, CDC receivesnumerous reports of similar cases of PCP and otheropportunistic infections among gay men—includingreports of a cluster of cases of a rare, and unusuallyaggressive, cancer, Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS), among agroup of gay men in New York and California. June 8: In response to these reports, CDCestablishes the Task Force on Kaposi’s Sarcoma andOpportunistic Infections to identify risk factors and todevelop a case definition for national surveillance. July 3: CDC releases another MMWR on KS andPCP among 26 gay men in New York and California.On the same day, the New York Times publishes1982 January 4: Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the firstcommunity-based AIDS service provider in theU.S., is founded in New York City. April 13: U.S. Representative Henry Waxmanconvenes the first congressional hearings on AIDSat the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian CommunityServices Center in Hollywood, California. At thehearing, Dr. James Curran, head of the CDC’sTask Force on Kaposi’s Sarcoma and OpportunisticInfections, estimates that tens of thousands ofpeople may be affected by the disease. May 9: The Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS) Research andEducation Foundation is formed to provideinformation on KS to gay men in San Francisco.The organization will ultimately become the SanFrancisco AIDS Foundation. September 24: CDC uses the term “AIDS”(Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) for thefirst time, and releases the first case definition ofAIDS: “a disease at least moderately predictive ofAIDS.GOV A TIMELINE OF HIV/AIDS PAGE 1an article entitled “Rare Cancer Seen in 41Homosexuals.” At this point, the term “gay cancer”enters the public lexicon. September 21: The nation’s first Kaposi’s Sarcomaclinic opens at the University of California, SanFrancisco Medical Center. December 10: Bobbi Campbell, a San Francisconurse, becomes the first KS patient to go public.Calling himself the “KS Poster Boy,“ Campbell writesa newspaper column on living with “gay cancer”for the San Francisco Sentinel. He also posts photosof his lesions in the window of a local drugstore toalert the community to the disease and encouragepeople to seek treatment. By year’s end, there is a cumulative total of 270reported cases of severe immune deficiency amonggay men, and 121 of those individuals have died.Some researchers begin calling the condition GRID(Gay-Related Immune Deficiency). This terminologyinfluences both the medical profession and thepublic to perceive the epidemic as limited to gaymen, with serious long-term consequences forwomen, heterosexual men, hemophiliacs, peoplewho inject drugs, and children.a defect in cell-mediated immunity, occurring in aperson with no known case for diminished resistanceto that disease.” September 24: Rep. Waxman and Rep. Phillip Burtonintroduce legislation to allocate 5 million to CDC forsurveillance and 10 million to the National Institutesof Health (NIH) for AIDS research. December 10: CDC reports a case of AIDS in aninfant who received blood transfusions. The followingweek, the MMWR reports 22 cases of unexplainedimmunodeficiency and opportunistic infections ininfants.
1983 January 1: Ward 86, the world’s first dedicatedoutpatient AIDS clinic, opens at San FranciscoGeneral Hospital. January 4: CDC hosts a public meetingwith the representatives from the U.S. Foodand Drug Administration (FDA), NIH, theblood services community, gay activists, andhemophilia specialists to identify opportunitiesto protect the nation’s blood supply from AIDS,but participants fail to reach consensus onappropriate action. January 7: CDC reports cases of AIDS in femalesexual partners of males with AIDS. In February, CDC establishes the National AIDSHotline to respond to public inquiries about thedisease. In the March 4 edition of the Morbidity andMortality Weekly Report (MMWR), CDC notesthat most cases of AIDS have been reportedamong homosexual men with multiple sexualpartners, people who inject drugs, Haitians,and hemophiliacs. The report suggests thatAIDS may be caused by an infectious agentthat is transmitted sexually or throughexposure to blood or blood products and issuesrecommendations for preventing transmission. May 18: The U.S. Congress passes the first billthat includes funding specifically targeted forAIDS research and treatment— 12 million foragencies within the U.S. Department of Healthand Human Services (HHS). May 20: Dr. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and hercolleagues at the Pasteur Institute in Francereport the discovery of a retrovirus they callLymphadenopathy Associated Virus (LAV ) thatcould be the cause of AIDS. In June, people living with AIDS (PLWAs) takeover the plenary stage at the National AIDSForum in Denver, and issue a statement on theright of PLWAs to be at the table when policyis made, to be treated with dignity, and to be1984called “people with AIDS,” not “AIDS victims.” Thestatement becomes known as The Denver Principles[PDF, 19 KB], and it serves as the charter for thefounding of the National Association of People withAIDS. July 25: San Francisco General Hospital opensWard 5B, the first dedicated AIDS ward in the U.S.It is fully occupied within days. The ward offerscompassionate, holistic care for AIDS patients, andall staff in the ward—from nurses to janitors—havevolunteered to work there. This becomes known asthe “San Francisco model of care” for HIV-positivepatients. August 1-2: The U.S. House of RepresentativesSubcommittee on Government Operations holdshearings on the federal response to AIDS. August 8: AIDS activist Bobbi Campbell appearswith his partner, Bobby Hilliard, on the cover ofNewsweek magazine for the story, “Gay America:Sex, Politics, and the Impact of AIDS.” It is the firsttime two gay men are pictured embracing oneanother on the cover of a U.S. mainstream nationalmagazine. September 2: In response to growing concernsabout the potential for transmission of AIDS inhealthcare settings, CDC publishes the first set ofoccupational exposure precautions for healthcareworkers and allied health professionals. In the September 9 MMWR, CDC identifies allmajor routes of HIV transmission—and rules outtransmission by casual contact, food, water, air, orenvironmental surfaces. September 30: After a New York doctor isthreatened with eviction from his building fortreating AIDS patients, the state’s Attorney Generaland Lambda Legal file the first AIDS discriminationlawsuit. November 22: The World Health Organization( WHO) holds its first meeting to assess theglobal AIDS situation and begins internationalsurveillance. Community-based AIDS service organizations jointhat a vaccine against AIDS will be produced withintogether to form AIDS Action, a national organizationtwo years.in Washington, DC, to advocate on behalf of people July 13: CDC states that avoiding injection drugand communities affected by the epidemic, touse and reducing needle-sharing “should also beeducate the federal government, and to help shapeeffective in preventing transmission of the virus.”AIDS-related policy and legislation. August 15: AIDS activist Bobbi Campbell dies of April 23: HHS Secretary Margaret Heckler announcesAIDS-related illness at age 32.that Dr. Robert Gallo and his colleagues at the In October, San Francisco officials order bathhousesNational Cancer Institute have found the cause ofclosed due to high-risk sexual activity occurring inAIDS, a retrovirus they have labeled HTLV-III. Hecklerthese venues. New York follows suit within a year.also announces the development of a diagnosticblood test to identify HTLV-III and expresses hopeAIDS.GOV A TIMELINE OF HIV/AIDS PAGE 2
1985 January 11: CDC revises the AIDS case definitionto note that AIDS is caused by a newly identifiedvirus and issue provisional guidelines for bloodscreening. March 2: FDA licenses the first commercial bloodtest, ELISA, to detect HIV. Blood banks beginscreening the U.S. blood supply. April 15–17: HHS and WHO host the firstInternational AIDS Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. August 27: Ryan White, an Indiana teenager whocontracted AIDS through contaminated bloodproducts used to treat his hemophilia, is refusedentry to his middle school. His family’s protractedlegal battles to protect Ryan’s right to attendschool call national attention to the issue of AIDS,and Ryan chooses to speak out publicly on theneed for AIDS education. August 31: The Pentagon announces that,beginning October 1, it will begin testing all newmilitary recruits for HIV infection and will rejectthose who test positive for the virus.calling AIDS “a top priority” and defending hisadministration against criticisms that funding forAIDS research is inadequate. October 2: The U.S. Congress allocates nearly 190 million for AIDS research—an increase of 70million over the Administration’s budget request.The House Appropriations Committee also urgesPresident Reagan to appoint an “AIDS czar.” October 2: Actor Rock Hudson dies of AIDS-relatedillness at age 59. He is the first major U.S. publicfigure to acknowledge that he has AIDS, and hisdeath marks a turning point in public perceptionsabout the epidemic. Hudson leaves 250,000 tohelp set up the American Foundation for AIDSResearch (amfAR). Actress Elizabeth Taylor serves asthe organization’s founding National Chairman. December 6: The U.S. Public Health Service issuesthe first recommendations for preventing HIVtransmission from mother to child. By year’s end, at least one HIV case has beenreported from each region of the world [PDF, 49 KB]. September 17: President Ronald Reaganmentions AIDS publicly for the first time,1986 The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation createsthe “AIDS Health Services Program” [PDF, 244KB], providing joint funding with the U.S. HealthResources and Services Administration (HRSA) fordemonstration projects in hard-hit U.S. cities. Thisprogram serves as a precursor to the Ryan WhiteCARE Act. The International Steering Committee for Peoplewith HIV/AIDS is created. Six years later, this willbecome the GNP (Global Network of PeopleLiving with HIV/AIDS). In May, the International Committee on theTaxonomy of Viruses declares that the virus thatcauses AIDS will officially be known as HumanImmunodeficiency Virus (HIV ). July 18: At the National Conference on AIDS inthe Black Community in Washington, DC, a groupof minority leaders meets with the U.S. SurgeonGeneral, Dr. C. Everett Koop, to discuss concernsabout HIV/AIDS in communities of color. Thismeeting marks the unofficial founding of theNational Minority AIDS Council (NMAC).1987 In February, AIDS activist Cleve Jones creates thefirst panel of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. February 1: WHO launches The Global Program onAIDS to: raise awareness; formulate evidence-basedpolicies; provide technical and financial support tocountries; initiate relevant social, behavioral, andbiomedical research; promote participation byAIDS.GOV A TIMELINE OF HIV/AIDS PAGE 3 October 22: Dr. Koop issues the Surgeon General’sReport on AIDS [PDF, 1.98 MB]. The report makes itclear that HIV cannot be spread casually and callsfor: a nationwide education campaign (includingearly sex education in schools); increased use ofcondoms; and voluntary HIV testing. October 24: CDC reports that AIDS cases aredisproportionately affecting African-Americansand Latinos. This is particularly true for AfricanAmerican and Latino children, who make up 90% ofperinatally acquired AIDS cases. October 29: The Institute of Medicine (IOM), theprincipal health unit of the National Academyof Sciences, issues a report, Confronting AIDS:Directions for Public Health, Health Care, andResearch. The report calls for a “massive media,educational and public health campaign to curbthe spread of the HIV infection,” as well as for thecreation of a National Commission on AIDS. TheIOM estimates that the effort will require a 2billion investment in research and patient care bythe end of the decade.nongovernmental organizations; and champion therights of those living with HIV. February 4: Emmy-award winning pianist Liberacedies of AIDS-related illness at age 67. In March, playwright and AIDS activist Larry Kramerfounds ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power)in New York City.
1987(cont.) March 19: FDA approves the first antiretroviraldrug, zidovudine (AZT ). The U.S. Congressapproves 30 million in emergency funding tostates for AZT—laying the groundwork for whatwill be the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP),authorized by the Ryan White CARE Act in 1990. March 19: FDA issues regulations that expandaccess to promising new medications that havenot yet been approved or licensed by the agency.This accelerates drug approval by 2-3 years. March 31: President Ronald Reagan andFrench Prime Minister Jacques Chirac endan international scientific dispute when theyannounce that researchers from the two countrieswill share credit for discovery of the AIDS virus.The countries agree that patent rights to a bloodtest that emerged from that discovery will also beshared, with most of the royalties donated to anew foundation for AIDS research and education. April 7: FDA declares HIV prevention as a newindication for male condoms. April 19: Princess Diana makes internationalheadlines when she is photographed shakingthe hand of an HIV-positive patient in a Londonhospital. She goes on to become a passionateadvocate for people living with HIV and to speakforcefully against HIV/AIDS-related stigma anddiscrimination. April 29: FDA approves the Western blot blood testkit, a more specific test for HIV antibodies. May 15: The U.S. Public Health Service addsHIV as a “dangerous contagious disease” to itsimmigration exclusion list and mandates testingfor all visa applicants. The HIV ban will not be lifteduntil January 4, 2010. May 31: President Reagan makes his first publicspeech about AIDS and establishes a PresidentialCommission on HIV. August 5: A federal judge orders Florida’s DeSotoCounty School Board to enroll HIV-positivebrothers, Ricky, Robert, and Randy Ray. The boardhad refused to allow the three boys, who arehemophiliacs, to attend. After the ruling, outragedtown residents refuse to allow their children to1988 March 3: Ryan White, an HIV-positive teenagerwho has become a national spokesperson forAIDS education, testifies before the President’sCommission on AIDS. In April, the first comprehensive needle-exchangeprogram in North America is established inTacoma, Washington. San Francisco thenestablishes what becomes the largest needleexchange program in the nation.AIDS.GOV A TIMELINE OF HIV/AIDS PAGE 4attend school, and someone sets fire to the Rayhouse on August 28, destroying it. August 14: CDC issues Perspectives in DiseasePrevention and Health Promotion: Public HealthService Guidelines for Counseling and AntibodyTesting to Prevent HIV Infection and AIDS. August 18: FDA sanctions the first human testingof a candidate vaccine against HIV. September 30: CDC launches the first AIDS-relatedpublic service announcements, America Respondsto AIDS, to kick off the newly designated AIDSAwareness Month in October. October 11: The AIDS Memorial Quilt goes ondisplay for the first time on the National Mall inWashington, DC. The display features 1,920 4x8panels and draws half a million visitors. October 14: In a 94-2 vote, the U.S. Senate adoptsthe Helms Amendment, which requires federallyfinanced educational materials about AIDS to stresssexual abstinence and forbids any material that“promotes” homosexuality or drug use. October 22: AIDS becomes the first disease everdebated on the floor of the United Nations (UN)General Assembly. The General Assembly resolvesto mobilize the entire UN system in the worldwidestruggle against AIDS and designates the WHO tolead the effort. In November, journalist Randy Shilts’ book aboutthe early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Andthe Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDSEpidemic, is published. Also in November, Debra Fraser-Howze, director ofteenage services at the Urban League of New York,founds the National Black Leadership Commissionon AIDS. The organization works to educate,mobilize, and empower black leaders to meet thechallenge of fighting HIV/AIDS and other healthdisparities in their local communities November 13: The American Medical Associationdeclares that doctors have an ethical obligation tocare for people with AIDS, as well as for those whohave been infected with the virus but show nosymptoms. May 26: The U.S. Surgeon General, C. Everett Koop,launches the U.S.’s first coordinated HIV/AIDSeducation campaign by mailing 107 million copiesof a booklet, Understanding AIDS [PDF, 1.1 MB], toall American households. It is the largest publichealth mailing in history. July 23: FDA announces that it will allow theimportation of small quantities of unapproveddrugs for persons with life-threatening illnesses,including HIV/AIDS.
1988(cont.) October 11: ACT UP protests at FDA headquartersover the slow pace of the federal drug-approvalprocess. Eight days later, FDA announces newregulations to speed up drug approvals. October 18: The Abandoned Infants Assistance(AIA) Act [PDF, 674 KB] becomes law; it addressesthe issue of so-called “boarder babies.” Theseinfants, many of whom have been perinatallyexposed to drugs or HIV, have been left athospitals indefinitely by their parents. The AIAfunds demonstration projects to support movingthese children into safe living arrangements. November 4: The Health Omnibus ProgramsExtension (HOPE) Act authorizes the use of federalfunds for AIDS prevention, education, and testing.It is the first comprehensive federal AIDS bill, andit also establishes the National Commission onAIDS and the Office of AIDS Research at NIH. November 28: Elizabeth Glaser, an HIV-positivemother of two HIV-positive children, and two ofher friends form the Pediatric AIDS Foundation(later renamed the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDSFoundation) to advocate for research into the careand treatment needs of children living with HIV/AIDS.1989 March 9: Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe diesof AIDS-related illness at age 42. June 16: Based on recommendations fromNIH, the U.S. Public Health Service issues thefirst guidelines for preventing Pneumocystiscarinii pneumonia, an AIDS-related opportunisticinfection, and a major cause of illness and deathfor people living with AIDS. June 23: CDC releases the Guidelines for Preventionof Transmission of Human Immunodeficiency Virusand Hepatitis B Virus to Health-Care and PublicSafety Workers. In July, Dázon Dixon Diallo founds SisterLove,Inc., the first organization in the U.S. southeasternstates to focus on women living with, or at risk for,contracting HIV. August 18: CDC reports that the number ofreported AIDS cases in the United States hasreached 100,000. June 23: Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of NIH’sNational Institute of Allergy and InfectiousDiseases, endorses a “parallel track” approachto clinical trials, which will give a larger numberof HIV-positive people access to experimentaltreatments. September 10–17: Members of 50 churchesand mosques come together for the first HarlemWeek of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS. The eventis the brainchild of the Reverend Dr. PernessaAIDS.GOV A TIMELINE OF HIV/AIDS PAGE 5 December 1: World AIDS Day is observed for thefirst time. The date is designated by WHO andsupported by the UN. December 17: Sylvester James, Jr., an openly gay,African-American entertainer who uses only his firstname, and who is called “the embodiment of disco,”dies of AIDS-related illness at age 41. December 20: Max Robinson, the first AfricanAmerican network news anchor in the U.S., anda founder of the National Association of BlackJournalists, dies of AIDS-related illness at age 49. December 27: Gay rights activist and writer JosephBeam dies of an AIDS-related illness at age 33. He isbest known for editing In The Life, the first collectionof writing by gay black men. HRSA awards HIV planning grants to 11 statesand 10 cities in order to create a plan for HIV/AIDSsystems of care, and also funds the first PediatricAIDS Service Demonstration Grants. These grantslay the groundwork for the statewide programs thatwill later be funded under the Ryan White CARE Act.Seele, an African-American immunologist andminister, who goes on to form The Balm in Gilead, anonprofit organization that works with black faithcommunities to improve health. September 18: The National Commission on AIDSmeets for the first time. December 1: African-American choreographer andactivist Alvin Ailey dies at age 58 of an AIDS-relatedillness. In 2014, President Barack Obama choosesAiley to receive a posthumous Presidential Medal ofFreedom—the nation’s highest civilian honor. HRSA grants 20 million for HIV care and treatmentthrough the Home-Based and Community-BasedCare State grant program. For many states, this istheir first involvement in HIV care and treatment. A CDC/HRSA initiative provides 11 million to fundseven community health centers to provide HIVcounseling and testing services. This is a precursorto what will be part of the Ryan White CARE Act.
1990 January 18: CDC reports the possibletransmission of HIV to a patient through a dentalprocedure performed by an HIV-positive dentist.This episode provokes much public debateabout the safety of common dental and medicalprocedures. January 26: The U.S. Public Health Service issuesa statement on managing occupational exposureto HIV, including considerations regarding postexposure use of the antiretroviral drug, AZT. February 16: Pop artist and AIDS activist KeithHaring dies of AIDS-related illness at age 31. April 8: Ryan White, the Indiana teen who becamean international spokesperson against HIV/AIDSstigma and discrimination, dies of AIDS-relatedillness at the age of 18. May 21: ACT UP protests at the NationalInstitutes of Health. The group demands more HIVtreatments and the expansion of clinical trials toinclude more women and people of color. June 20–24: The 6th International AIDSConference meets in San Francisco. To protest U.S.immigration policy that bars people with HIV fromentering the country, domestic and internationalnongovernmental groups boycott the conference.1991 April–May: The Visual AIDS Artists Caucuslaunches the Red Ribbon Project to create a visualsymbol to demonstrate compassion for peopleliving with AIDS and their caregivers. The redribbon becomes the international symbol of AIDSawareness. July 21: CDC recommends restrictions on thepractice of HIV-positive healthcare workers.Congress goes on to enact a law requiring statesto adopt the CDC restrictions or to develop andadopt their own. August 14: The U.S. Congress passes the TerryBeirn Community-Based Clinical Trials ProgramAct [PDF, 56 KB] to establish a network ofcommunity-based clinical trials for HIV treatment.1992 In this year, AIDS becomes the number one causeof death for U.S. men ages 25 to 44. February 4: The International OlympicCommittee rules that athletes with HIV are eligibleto compete in the games without restrictions. April 8: Arthur Ashe, the former United StatesOpen and Wimbledon tennis champion and anAfrican-American pioneer in sports and socialissues, announces that he has AIDS. Ashe, whounderwent heart-bypass surgeries in 1979 and1983, believes he contracted HIV via bloodAIDS.GOV A TIMELINE OF HIV/AIDS PAGE 6 July 26: The U.S. Congress enacts the Americanswith Disabilities Act [PDF, 7.9 MB]. The Act prohibitsdiscrimination against individuals with disabilities,including people living with HIV/AIDS. August 18: The U.S. Congress enacts the RyanWhite Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency(CARE) Act of 1990 [PDF, 2.41 MB], which provides 220.5 million in federal funds for HIV communitybased care and treatment services in its first year.HRSA is given responsibility for managing theprogram, which is the nation’s largest HIV-specificfederal grant program. October 26: FDA approves use of zidovudine (AZT )for pediatric AIDS. November 28: The U.S. Congress enacts legislationthat includes the AIDS Housing Opportunity Act,which creates the Housing Opportunities for Peoplewith AIDS (HOPWA) program the following year.Administered by the U.S. Department of Housingand Urban Development (HUD), HOPWA grantsprovide housing assistance to people living withAIDS. December 17: In response to the critical, unmetneed for HIV prevention and care among Latinos,a group of community leaders forms the LatinoCommission on AIDS.Beirn, an executive and lobbyist at amfAR, playedkey roles in the passage of the HOPE Act and theRyan White CARE Act. He died of AIDS-relatedillness on July 16, 1990, age 39. November 7: American basketball star Earvin“Magic” Johnson announces that he is HIV-positive. November 24: Freddie Mercury, lead singer/songwriter of the rock band Queen, dies of AIDSrelated illness at age 45. NMAC, in cooperation with the National Associationof People With AIDS (NAPWA) and the National AIDSInterfaith Network, holds the first annual NationalSkills Building Conference, which will later becomethe United States Conference on AIDS.transfusions. He dies of AIDS-related illness onFebruary 3, 1993. May 11: The U.S. District Court in Manhattandeclares that the Helms Amendment (1987) whichrequires federally financed educational materialsabout AIDS to stress sexual abstinence and forbidsany material that “promotes” homosexuality or druguse, is unconstitutionally vague. May 27: FDA licenses a rapid HIV diagnostic test kitwhich gives results from a blood test in 10 minutes.
1992(cont.)1993 July 19–24: The 8th International AIDSConference is held in Amsterdam. The event wasoriginally scheduled for Boston, but the venueis moved due to U.S. immigration restrictions onpeople living with HIV/AIDS. December 1: CDC launches the Business Respondsto AIDS program to help large and small businessesmeet the challenges of HIV/AIDS in the workplaceand the community. (CDC will start the LaborResponds to AIDS program in 1995.) President Clinton establishes the White HouseOffice of National AIDS Policy (ONAP). In August, the Women’s Interagency HIV Study andHIV Epidemiology Study begin. Both are major U.S.federally funded research studies on women and HIV/AIDS. The National Association of People With AIDS(NAPWA) convenes the first annual “AIDS Watch.”Hundreds of community members from across theU.S. come to Washington, DC, to lobby Congressfor increased funding. January 6: World-renowned ballet dancer RudolfNureyev dies of AIDS-related illness at age 54. April 13: Angels in America, Tony Kushner’s multiact play about AIDS, wins the 1993 Pulitzer Prizefor drama. May 7: FDA approves the female condom. In June, the U.S. Congress enacts the NIHRevitalization Act, giving the Office of AIDSResearch primary oversight of all NIH AIDSresearch. The Act requires NIH and other researchagencies to expand involvement of women andminorities in all research. The same act codifies the U.S. HIV immigrationexclusion policy into law; President Clinton signs iton June 10.1994 In this year, AIDS becomes the leading cause ofdeath for all Americans ages 25 to 44. February 17: Randy Shilts, a U.S. journalist whocovered the AIDS epidemic and who authoredAnd the Band Played On: Politics, People and theAIDS Epidemic, dies of AIDS-related illness at age42. May 20: CDC publishes Guidelines for PreventingTransmission of Human Immunodeficiency VirusThrough Transplantation of Human Tissue andOrgans.1995 December 18: CDC expands the case definition ofAIDS, declaring those with CD4 counts below 200 tohave AIDS. In that same report, CDC adds three new conditions—pulmonary tuberculosis, recurrent pneumonia,and invasive cervical cancer—to the list of clinicalindicators of AIDS. These new conditions mean thatmore women and people who inject drugs will bediagnosed with AIDS. December 22: The film Philadelphia, starring TomHanks as a lawyer fired from his job because he hasAIDS, opens in theaters. Other earlier films, includingthe documentary No Sad Songs (1985), Buddies (1985),An Early Frost (1985), and Longtime Companion (1989),have addressed AIDS, but Philadelphia is the firstmajor Hollywood film on the topic. Hanks will win hisfirst Academy Award for Best Actor for his role. August 5: The U.S. Public Health Service recommendsthat pregnant women be given the antiretroviral drugAZT to reduce the risk of perinatal transmission of HIV. November 11: Pedro Zamora, a member of the cast ofMTV’s popular television show, “The Real World,” diesof AIDS-related illness at age 22. December 23: FDA approves an oral HIV test, the firstnon-blood-based antibody test for HIV. HHS issues guidelines requiring applicants for NIHgrants to address “the appropriate inclusion of womenand minorities in clinical research.” February 23: Olympic gold medal diver GregLouganis discloses that he has AIDS. June 27: The National Association of People With AIDSlaunches the first National HIV Testing Day. March 26: Eric Lynn Wright, a.k.a. rapper Eazy-E,dies from an AIDS-related illness, one month afterbeing diagnosed. July 14: CDC issues the first guidelines to helphealthcare providers prevent opportunistic infectionsin people infected with HIV. In June, FDA approves the first proteaseinhibitor. This ushers in a n
Services Center in Hollywood, California. At the hearing, Dr. James Curran, head of the CDC's . Task Force on Kaposi's Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections, estimates that tens of thousands of people may be afected by the disease. May 9: The Kaposi's Sarcoma (KS) Research and Education Foundation is formed to provide
